


Unexpected, for Sure

by why_is_glieric



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Asexual Character, Background Character, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Crack Relationship, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff, Gay Character, Gay Panic, Gen, Getting Together, M/M, My headcanons, Nonbinary Character (mentioned), PERFECTLY SFW THOUGH, Rarepair, Romance, Worldbuilding, discussion of sexuality, idk if this fic even contains enough for those tags to be warranted but it's fine, lol there's no tag for Titan, sexual awakening, takes place after the grand bout, this is more interesting than it sounds I promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-24
Updated: 2019-11-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 19:00:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21543466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/why_is_glieric/pseuds/why_is_glieric
Summary: Ruri doesn't tell the villagers every single one of the Hundred Tales, but when you ask...Well, Kinro finds out that Titan asked.(I took it upon myself to show how Ishigami Village could benefit from having some queer representation in one way or another.)
Relationships: Ishigami Senkuu & Kinrou, Kinro/Titan
Comments: 24
Kudos: 74





	Unexpected, for Sure

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY, HEAR ME OUT--
> 
> Dr. Stone made a BIG mistake giving us the names of so many background characters. I would bet money that most people don't even know which character Titan is off the top of their head, but here I am, giving him a personality and everything, and I guarantee he does in fact exist in this show. He has six speaking lines in the grand bout arc. I counted.
> 
> Anyway, the second my sister and I saw that Titan didn't enter the grand bout, we were like, "Clearly he didn't want to fight to marry Ruri because he is gay," which led to my idiot brain going, "The only person who would deserve to date this absolutely stand-up-lookin' lad is Kinro," which led to this fic existing even though I definitely should not have written it. I spend, like, half the fic justifying why it's even happening. The rest is gay panic, which I apparently have a penchant for writing. Lmk why I'm like this.
> 
> But anyway, here it is, and y'all better mcfreakin enjoy it, because I put WAY too much effort into writing in my headcanons about certain characters and the Hundred Tales.

Kinro woke up in Chrome’s hut, surrounded by the rocks and other materials he and Senku used for their sorce—science. They had insisted that he sleep there for the night, just in case he needed more treatment for his wounds. “Just call for us if you need anything; we’ll be strategizing through the night, so we’ll hear you,” they said, shoving him down and forcibly wrapping him in a blanket. He would have protested if the wound in his abdomen didn’t ache so guiltily, the journey back into the village seeming so much farther than the usual easy trek. So he followed instructions, and he awoke having slept the whole way through the night, intermittently feeling like he was falling and swept around by a rockless tide.

Suffice it to say, regaining consciousness was as disorienting as it was relieving.

_I pushed myself too hard_ , he thought, trying not to groan as he forced himself into a sitting position, refusing to give in to the dense weight he felt in his bones, trying to drag him back down to the wooden floor. He looked down, face pinched. The way his bandages were tinted with a dull red and eyes felt fuzzier than normal left him shoving a lump back down his throat, reluctant to show weakness even with nobody around. His muscles ached in ways that they hadn’t since he first started his many years of intensive training—with his failure in the grand bout and the masked warrior’s subsequent ambush, he wasn’t surprised. But he couldn’t help but be disappointed in himself for failing both fights at the expense of his friends.

Ginro hadn’t done the logical thing and cut the bridge when the masked warrior—Gen had called him Hyoga—nearly won against him, and while Kinro was extremely grateful to his brother for allowing him to evade death, it was ultimately Kinro’s fault that Hyoga was still out there and posing a threat to Ishigami Village. Senku was even forced to use one of the seemingly infinite aces up his sleeve as a bluff—and Kinro was certain that it was one that should have been saved for a more dire situation. Truly, if Kinro had been stronger…

“Oh, you’re up.”

Kinro started. He must have _really_ overexerted himself if he didn’t even notice anyone approaching the hut and climbing all the way up the ladder.

Titan was there, head poking through the doorway with a neutral look on his face, arms resting against the floor of the enclosure as he met Kinro’s eyes. Kinro couldn’t help but stare back, wondering why _Titan_ , of all people, would decide to visit him for whatever unknown reason. Sure, they were friendly, but Kinro tended to avoid extensive conversation with the other man. Every time Titan was in his vicinity, Kinro would always seem to lose focus on anything else due to the strange tightness in his chest that would only pass when he tore his eyes away from him and his distractingly fluffy-looking hair and wide, deep blue eyes—and Titan seemed to have a penchant for knowing when someone was staring, since he always looked up and very nearly caught his eye whenever this happened. Logically, Kinro couldn’t spend too much time near this distraction of a man if it meant he wouldn’t be dedicating his entire self to his duties as a guard.

Having seemingly waited long enough for Kinro to respond and receiving nothing, Titan offered, “The others are busy with, uh, battle plans and stuff. I brought you food.” He gestured to the bowl sitting on the floor next to him, which Kinro had failed to notice until he was staring right at it. Blinking slowly, he lamented the loss of his visual clarity, blaming his inattentiveness on his fuzzy eye disease.

No, it wasn’t a sickness. He kept having to remind himself that there’s more to life that science _can_ explain. Senku and Chrome were showing him that.

He remembered that he still hadn’t spoken a word to Titan, who was looking at him with an increasingly worried expression on his face. Titan didn’t seem to emote much past his core four “friendliness,” “exasperation,” “determination,” and “abject horror,” so this made Kinro feel… stranger than usual.

“Thanks,” he managed, starting to take the blanket off his body in an attempt to stand up, but Titan stopped him.

  
“No no no, you can stay sitting. I’ve got it,” he said quickly, climbing the rest of the way into the hut in two swift movements and bringing the bowl—full of ramen, he saw—as well as a cup of water that Kinro hadn’t noticed, _again_ , to his side. Kinro reached to pull the bowl onto his blanket-covered lap, feeling the warmth seeping through the clay and into his bandaged stomach.

“Thank you,” Kinro repeated softly, suddenly feeling less like the warrior that nearly beat Magma and more like the warrior who almost died fighting Hyoga. But Titan didn’t need to know that—although he could probably tell, based on the heavy shadows Kinro could feel under his eyes and all the herbs and bandages pasted around his body, masking his wounds.

Titan didn’t leave, for some reason. He kneeled and watched as Kinro ate, and Kinro tried to do so normally, feeling strangely self-conscious as the other man stared at him with that odd concern on his face. He tried to focus on the ramen, tried _very_ hard not to glance up to meet Titan’s weirdly intense gaze—and he failed yet another thing, because when he did, Titan didn’t exactly look away. But he didn’t look perturbed that Kinro suddenly stopped eating, letting his hand fall to place his utensil back into the mostly empty bowl, both hands now resting on its rim as his eyes dropped down to stare into his lap. Kinro couldn’t place the sensation in his stomach that felt slightly off from hunger—and it couldn’t be that, since he had literally _just_ eaten. Pensive and mildly perturbed, he placed the bowl off to the side, now almost nauseous. Maybe there was something wrong with him.

Titan spoke abruptly. “The outsider guy said you might have a—concussion? Something like that.” Kinro glanced up from where he was staring at his hands. Titan was still searching his face for something Kinro couldn’t figure out. “Because you hit your head.”

Kinro could only nod, indicating for Titan to continue.

Titan glanced down and around the room before meeting Kinro’s eyes again. “Well, I guess I don’t really have a reason to mention this, but the sorcerer said—”

“Scientist,” Kinro corrected aloud, almost automatically. Then he grimaced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Titan looked surprised, but it quickly gave way to a little smile that twisted Kinro’s insides. “No, it’s fine. The scientist said there were a few ways to tell if you have a concussion—like, tests, but it seems like you’re pretty low-energy right now and I can’t tell if it’s because you’re regular-injured or concussion-injured. Sorry.” He scratched the back of his neck, looking to the side sheepishly.

Kinro wondered if Titan thought he was acting strange. Or if he thought that Kinro acted strange in general. The thought made his usual frown cut deeper into his face. “Well, if there is a chance I could have such a severe head injury, then checking would be the best course of action.”

Titan nodded. “He said to start with easy questions, so…” Titan shifted into a more comfortable position, crossing his legs instead of kneeling on them. “What’s your name?”

“Kinro.”

“What’s my name?”

“Titan.” The man in question seemed to bite something back, but the ghost of a movement was gone in the blink of an eye.

“What’s the outsider’s name?"

Kinro narrowed his eyes. “Is this an excuse for you to ask me for his name because you didn’t remember?”

Titan smirked wryly, gripping Kinro’s heart. “You got me.” And then he stared at Kinro expectantly.

He sighed. “It’s Senku.”

Titan nodded, satisfied. “Moving on… who’s the village chief?”

“It was Kokuyo, but now it’s Senku.”

Titan’s nose wrinkled ~~cutely~~. “I’m still not sure how to feel about that, to be honest.”

Kinro scoffed. “Senku is a great man. He will turn our village into a fine kingdom of science.”

Titan smiled faintly. “I get it. You care about him a lot. So does everyone else,” he added, almost like it was an afterthought. “He seems like a good guy, from the little I’ve seen, at least.” He cleared his throat, cutting off the conversation. “Now… touch your nose.”

Kinro blinked at him dubiously. Titan raised his hands innocently. “Just repeating what Senku told me. It’s not like I know what it means, unless you do it wrong.” His tone was borderline challenging—not something Kinro expected from the usually nonconfrontational man biting back a teasing smile across from him.

Well, fine. Kinro would prove just how not-injured he was. (Not counting the cuts and bruises littering his body… and the stab wound in his lower abdomen… but that wasn’t the point.)

He rose a hand, placing his pointer finger on his nose decisively, staring Titan down as the other man tried to stifle the uncalled-for laughter he clearly wanted to let out. “Alright, alright, I get it,” Titan chuckled, gesturing with his hands for Kinro to calm down. “Do I even need to continue these tests? You seem just fine to me.”

Kinro frowned. “You should leave the judgment to the tests, not your personal opinion.” Titan seemed to laugh at that, but he complied.

Or, he was about to, but…

“There were some tools the scientist said some of these needed,” he said sheepishly. “I don’t think they’re in here.”

Kinro blinked. “Tools?”

“Yeah,” Titan let out, reluctance apparent, “I guess to test your reflexes and stuff, but I’m not sure.”

Kinro’s eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you ask Senku for these tools to begin with?”

Titan looked nervous. “Because… I didn’t think of it…?” Kinro’s deadpan expression held, and eventually, Titan broke. “Okay, fine, he said to call him if I thought you might have a concussion. I’m not even sure why he took the time to tell me any of the tests, but I figured they sounded easy enough, so I could do them just fine.”

“You should leave the science to Chrome and Senku,” Kinro said, stubborn. “We aren’t the ones who have dedicated our lives to it.”

Titan sighed loudly, throwing up his arms. “I didn’t want to bother them, y’know? They’re finally taking a break, and it’s been a long night for them, so…”

Kinro looked back down at his lap, his hands. “I suppose you have a point,” he conceded.

Titan smiled. Kinro cleared his throat in hopes that it would regain the steadiness of his heartbeat, saying, “Was that really all? There may be other tests you forgot about.”

“Um. I guess… there was one about balance? But should you really be walking around yet?”  
  


Kinro scowled. “It’s not like I’m made of clay. I’m essentially fully healed.”

“Oh, really?” Titan smirked. “Try standing up, then.”

Oh, _this_ must have been why Kinro never wanted to be around Titan. His chest was ready to explode—out of indignation at the other man’s sass, certainly not the challenging glint in his eye. Throwing the blanket off his legs defiantly, Kinro stood up—and promptly staggered, blood rushing around his body in ways that made him nauseous.

Titan was there immediately, strong hands bracing Kinro on either side to ensure he didn’t fall over. Kinro stiffened under his grip, feeling exceedingly disconcerted about the warmth spreading from the places Titan was holding him. “I’m fine,” he said tensely. “I can stand by myself.”

“Are you sure about that?” Titan’s tone was teasing, but when Kinro gathered the nerve to meet his eyes, his grin was unexpected and utterly _blinding_. Kinro’s breath caught, forgetting for a moment that his guard should be up. He resisted the urge to whisper, _Maybe not_ , and before he could even wonder why that thought had even crossed his mind, Titan relinquished his grip on Kinro’s arms.

The distance between them grew again—the physical distance—but Kinro could tell from the haze of Titan’s posture that he was studying Kinro. Reflexively, and perhaps defensive about the residual embarrassment for how intensely he was staring at Titan just a moment ago, Kinro’s face pinched in a futile attempt to tell what kind of expression Titan was making.

“You really have the fuzzy sickness, don’t you?” Titan said in wonderment. Kinro wasn’t sure why he had such a… non-condescending tone when saying that. There was a heavy stigma against people whose eyes didn’t work the way everyone else’s did. And the rumor—well, it wasn’t a rumor, but the information must have spread through the village fairly quickly, all things considered.

But he didn’t know how else to respond, so he gave a simple, “Yes,” hoping that he didn’t sound too bothered. Titan hadn’t even said anything negative. Stars, Kinro hoped Titan didn’t think that Kinro thought ill of him.

Titan was still standing contemplatively, the quiet bustle of the science team distantly registering as Kinro’s heartbeat migrated to his ears. It was always unsettling not knowing what people were thinking, and Kinro had spent his whole life judging others based on their actions, since he couldn’t rely on their expressions. But he doubted that he could have been prepared for what Titan would say next, regardless.

“You must’ve worked really hard, man.”

Kinro could have felt his heart stop in that moment. In all his years of living in the small village, those deemed to have deficiencies such as bad eyesight were seen as just that—something lacking. He had _never_ heard anyone frame it like—like a positive thing, a testament to his perseverance. And the thing was, Titan was _right_. Kinro _had_ worked really hard—extremely hard, because he couldn’t let anyone else know about his vision which only seemed to get blurrier by the year. His image was always on the line; and he had always worried that they wouldn’t let him fight for his village anymore, if they knew he couldn’t see as well as they thought.

And in one simple sentence, whether he realized it or not, Titan had acknowledged that.

Kinro hadn’t felt like crying from anything but pain in years, but his heart felt so foreignly full that he almost couldn’t swallow back the lump rising rapidly in his throat. But something must have shown on his face, because Titan was in front of him again, hands hovering a centimeter away from Kinro’s, and it was then that he realized that his fists were clenched so tightly that he was shaking. Kinro wished that he could blame it on his injuries, but he knew his body well enough that he was at least aware that his emotions were getting in the way of his stoic, unmovable front. He needed to stop this in its tracks, whatever _it_ was, but—

Titan was _really_ pretty.

And Titan immediately broke through that mental tangent with, “Did I say something wrong?” Kinro shook his head automatically, but there were a few more tense moments of silence between them before he could wrangle his unidentifiable, nearly overwhelming feelings back into his chest before he could say something vulnerable. He was an expert at hiding things about himself that could interfere with his reliable, levelheaded image, after all.

Titan lowered his hands back to his sides slowly, waiting for Kinro to say something else, but still close enough that Kinro could make out his facial features in less than the desirable clarity, but Kinro realized that Titan was giving him space while simultaneously being in enough proximity to catch him if he passed out or lost balance again. For such a considerate person, it was a wonder he wasn’t courting anyone. And that…

That made a question spring up in his mind.

He was hesitant to voice it, though. He didn’t want to come off as—nosy, he guessed. But Titan saw through him, somehow, and he said, “You look like you want to say something.” For some reason, he stepped closer at that, hand reaching out tentatively, hovering close enough to Kinro’s arms that he could feel the ghost of their warmth. A pressure built in Kinro’s chest, and when he met Titan’s eyes, seeing them with real clarity, it escaped into the air between them.

“Why didn’t you enter the grand bout?”

Titan’s hand recoiled as if he’d been burned by the very question. Kinro’s heart stuttered and stopped, dropping into his stomach at the immediate reaction. He had no idea what could have caused such a usually placid person to respond so vehemently. Cursing his bad eyesight more than he ever has in his desire to know what was on Titan’s mind, his thoughts churned, trying to find a proper way to apologize and ask what was wrong without offending him further. But Titan regained his composure faster than Kinro, so he was the one who spoke first.

“You’re asking me that after everything is all said and done?” he said with a bitter smile twisting his features, permeating his tone. Kinro’s heart sunk further. But it would be a disservice to Titan if he chose to back down from the question, now.

Gathering his courage, he clarified, “I was just wondering why you, as an eligible bachelor and well-liked member of our village, didn’t enter to fight for Ruri’s hand in marriage. You would have been a valuable asset to the Kingdom of Science.”

Titan stared at him for a long, silent moment, expression unreadable. Kinro started to wonder if he was being too presumptuous. Or perhaps he _was_ courting someone and Kinro didn’t know about it? The thought made Kinro’s throat tighten. Was it one of the gemstone sisters? But that would have been an _extremely_ recent development, since those three were the most vocal about their desire for a significant other. How could Kinro not have heard about it, then? Did Titan not want anyone to know?—

However, Titan dodged a direct reply, instead saying, “I don’t exactly recall you entering the first iteration of the grand bout, either.” While not even approaching hostility, the tenseness in his voice made Kinro’s heart scream to find a way to ease it back to normal. But Titan did have somewhat of a point, there, although Kinro _did_ have a reason—and an obvious one, at that.

His brow furrowed, now wondering why Titan even asked. “I have my duties as a guard; I cannot afford to be burdened with further responsibilities that may undermine my ability to protect the village.”

Titan was quiet for another moment. “Would you go around asking this to anyone else, like Carbo? He didn’t enter the grand bout, either.”

This gave Kinro pause. It seemed rather off-topic, but he decided to answer as neutrally as he could. (Why _did_ he feel like he needed to ask such a question to Titan, out of everyone?)

“Carbo is friends with Magma,” Kinro said carefully, “and I highly doubt he wanted to get on Magma’s bad side by even suggesting that he wanted to become chief. We wouldn’t be able to win over someone who associates so closely with our main obstacle.”  
  


Titan let out a little laugh, and Kinro felt his shoulders loosen at the sound. “You sound like the scientist fed you that line word-for-word.”

Kinro bristled. “Senku may be the epitome of intelligence, but as a warrior, it is my duty to be able to strategize. From the perspective of a member of the Kingdom of Science, it’s only obvious that we couldn’t get Carbo on our side.”

Titan patted Kinro’s arm— _When did he get close enough to do that?_ —and laughed. “It was a joke, man. I know you’re smart.”

Whether from the contact or the compliment, Kinro’s face burned—a foreign feeling. Flustered, he stuttered, “W-well, you would make a perfectly suitable chief if you entered the grand bout, so…”

Instant regret.

Titan burst out laughing, still standing close enough to Kinro that he could feel his muscular frame shaking with each fit. This did absolutely nothing to aid the blush that Kinro suspected was still extremely prevalent in his cheeks.

“I don’t care about being chief,” Titan managed between laughs. Eventually, he calmed down, taking deep breaths. “I’m not a leader by any means. I just want to live, man.”

Kinro blinked. “Then… for Ruri’s hand?” he questioned, still not getting it. “She’s a beautiful woman, I’m sure any man would be elated to be her husband.”

Titan looked at him blankly. Then, strangely, his face went on a journey—too quickly (and too blurry) for Kinro to be able to identify anything beyond the finality of the determination that spread across Titan’s face. His heart stuttered in his chest, unable to look away as Titan locked their gazes together.

“I’m not attracted to women.”

That sentence did not immediately register in Kinro’s brain.

Titan’s expression didn’t change as he watched Kinro try to process this piece of—inconceivable information, to be honest. The possibility of a man not being attracted to women had never occurred to Kinro before, since the whole point of attraction was to reproduce and all that. And the implications—

Kinro’s face turned red again, and that made Titan grin.

“W-wait…” he stuttered. “Does that mean…?!”

Titan laughed, knowing what Kinro was about to ask. “Yeah, I’m into men. Does that make you uncomfortable?” His voice was confident, teasing, but there was a subtle undertone of a legitimate, almost nervous question that Kinro would never have noticed if they weren’t so—

Oh stars, they were _really_ close to each other.

Kinro… didn’t dislike it.

Oh no.

He had no idea what to do about this information. Now that the option was presented, and he knew that technically, since Titan seemed sure about it, he wasn’t _obligated_ to have that attraction to women—he never really understood it, anyway, but since he was supposed to eventually marry and have children, of course he would consider himself—

But he’d always attributed his lack of understanding to his poor eyesight, since you can’t be attracted to something you can’t see. Hey, was Titan getting closer, or was it just him? He still hadn’t answered, had he? What was the question, again?

“Uh—” Kinro stumbled over his own tongue, too busy wondering why he didn’t want to stop Titan from his slow approach to formulate any words. He could feel the other man’s warm breaths at this point. Distantly, he hoped his last drink of water had washed away the lingering smell of ramen from his meal.

At some point, his eyes started unconsciously sliding shut—

“Heeeyyyy, Kinro, I just gotta hop in for a minute to get some supplies, hope you’re awake—”

One would think, after over a decade of training, that Kinro’s first reaction upon being caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to do would be to stop doing the thing. But apparently, his reaction was to freeze as Senku climbed into the science shed, vaguely aware that Titan merely glanced over at the intruder and the intruder in question froze along with Kinro, staring at the two, who were still _way_ too close to each other for it to be anything but incriminating.

When Kinro’s brain caught up with the situation, his whole body reacted. He shoved Titan away from him, jumping to the opposite side of the enclosure, desperately hoping he didn’t look like a cornered animal as he tried to think of an excuse that would be even remotely convincing.

For some reason, Titan was grinning, entirely unconcerned with Senku barging in on them doing—absolutely nothing! Nothing was happening! But Titan looked _far_ too amused about it, and Kinro was at a complete loss as to why!

“Hm,” was all Senku said.

“We weren’t doing anything!” Kinro blurted out, knowing it wasn’t compelling in the slightest but still feeling the need to deny it.

“No, no, carry on,” Senku said breezily, continuing into the science shed. “I just need to grab a few things, then I’ll be out of your way…”

“Senku—”

“I gotta say, though,” the scientist interrupted, not facing the two of them in his pursuit of science materials. “I didn’t really expect this.”

Kinro’s stomach dropped, for some reason. “Expect what?”

“That Mr. ‘The Rules Are The Rules’ of the primitive village would be into dudes.” Senku straightened up from where he was crouching, but strangely, he left the gathered materials on the floor. “Actually, I didn’t expect anyone here to actually realize what same-sex attraction is in the first place.” Those were some terms Kinro were hearing for the first time, for sure.

The unspoken question must have been clear from the furrow of his brow, because Senku took it upon himself to elaborate without further prompting. “I was sure that it’d be clear from the initial situation that reproduction was essential, which would leave no room for anything but heterosexuality here. Honestly, it would have been a nightmare if my asexual ass had been one of the only humans left alive with no way of reviving any of the petrified people,” he laughed humorlessly.

Despite the small quantity of information Senku had just run through as if it were small talk, Kinro was struggling to keep up. “A… sexual…?”

Senku glanced between Kinro and Titan (who still had yet to actually say anything), his face gaining an air of careful blankness. “Asexuality is the term for when a person isn’t sexually attracted to anyone. Not that I need to give you a whole birds-and-bees talk—I don’t know how sex ed works here one millimeter, so it’s not like it matters, but—heterosexuality is being attracted to the opposite sex, homosexuality is being attracted to the same sex, and bisexuality is being attracted to both. Romantic attraction is something different, and it’s all a spectrum or whatever,” he explained, waving his hand casually. “I doubt there was any reason to pass down this information, so don’t worry about it.”

  
“Actually,” Titan cut in suddenly, “there is one story in the Hundred Tales about this kind of thing.”

Both Kinro and Senku looked at him in surprise. Titan’s face had a subtle tightness to it that Kinro had never seen before, although he had a feeling that anyone who hadn’t grown up with him wouldn’t notice.

Their silence encouraged Titan to elaborate. “When we were kids, I felt like there was something wrong with me, since everyone kept saying that the girls would start liking boys and boys would start liking girls, but I started feeling the way girls were supposed to feel about boys. I ended up going to Ruri about it, and she told me the story from the Hundred Tales about a boy who liked boys, a girl who liked boys and girls, a man who never had the desire to be married, and two people who were born in the wrong body.” Titan stopped when Senku’s eyebrows shot up dramatically, seemingly in reaction to that last point.

“ _Really_ ,” Senku muttered, not in a negative tone. “That’s fascinating. I didn’t think my old man would’ve considered gender and sexuality to be important enough to bring up in the Hundred Tales. _Huh._ ”

The scientist looked like he had a lot to think about, but he kept speaking, seemingly to himself. “I always had my suspicions that Byakuya was as ace as I am, but to think he’d find being bi and trans integral enough to surviving humanity to include them in the Hundred Tales—actually, that makes more sense than I’d thought; validating the human identity is one way to keep up general morale, and gender dysphoria is one hell of an incapacitating force… being reassured that your feelings aren’t unprecedented and can be dealt with in a healthy way _would_ be something to include in the list of most important parts of living…”

Everything Senku was saying was flying far over Kinro’s head, but when he glanced over at Titan—who had gravitated halfway back to Kinro, at that point—the other man looked like he was clinging to every word that came out of Senku’s mouth. Kinro’s heart swelled a little at the sight of Titan’s wide-eyed wonder, and this time, he didn’t try to stifle it.

When Kinro tuned back in, Senku stopped his philosophizing with a forced laugh. “But you guys probably don’t care about all this theory. It can get unnecessarily complicated.”

Titan shook his head slowly. “Nobody else in the village has asked Ruri about this kind of thing, from what she’s told me. I think it’s interesting.”

Senku snorted, a crooked grin on his face. “Well, that’s good to hear. That someone finds it interesting, I mean—and, well, if too many people strayed from heterosexuality, there wouldn’t be much left to work with in the gene pool, and that’d be a whole other scientific mess to deal with.” He chuckled to himself, making a move as if to pick up the almost-forgotten materials still sitting at his feet. But, for some reason, he stopped, partially hunched over, and started speaking again, almost to himself.

“If the villagers aren’t actively told about the existence of transgender people, then I can’t blame Gen for not being entirely truthful to us about his gender…” Somehow, this bit of information, regardless of whether Kinro understood it, felt heavier than anything else Senku had said before. “It _would_ be quite the risk to ask a primitive population that you just met if they accept they/them pronouns, after all, wouldn’t it…?”

Whatever Senku was deliberating out loud, he cut it off with a heave of his science materials. With an air of finality, he said, “Well, I’ll get out of your hair. You two can continue whatever you were doing before, if I didn’t ruin the moment too terribly. I’ll make sure nobody else comes here for a while, ten billion percent.” And with that, Senku walked right out of the science shed, carrying the materials down the ladder with such speed that Kinro wondered if he wasn’t training with Kohaku behind everyone’s backs.

Kinro was so stunned by the abrupt exit and the preceding information overload that he forgot to even correct Senku that anything wasn’t even happening. But after all that exposition, he had to rethink whether maybe, just maybe, something _was_ happening before, even if he hadn’t realized or had a name for it.

And, _right_ , Titan was still in the room with him, looking just as pensive as Kinro. Maybe less puzzled, though. It seemed that Senku’s info dump had been less confusing like it was for Kinro and more food for thought.

After a minute of mutual silence, with Titan being lost in thought and Kinro dazed and confused, not sure whether to parse the strange feeling of sudden permission to not be solely attracted to women, Titan looked up, and Kinro was struck dumb all over again. Titan’s gaze was piercing and curious, and when he spoke, he asked, “So, what do you think about all this?”

Truthfully, Kinro didn’t know how to feel about any of it. He kind of felt like he needed to go back to sleep before giving careful attention to the thoughts and emotions rolling around in his mind.

… And while he wasn’t paying attention, Titan had moved back to his side, again. Why did he always manage to evade Kinro’s usually keen awareness? Was it because of all the blood loss from the previous day’s events? Could he even make that excuse, considering the way Kinro’s eyes have had their inconvenient tendency to gravitate back to Titan ever since they were kids? It seemed that Kinro was either hypersensitive to Titan’s presence or completely unable to keep track of him. And right now, he was very, _very_ aware of their proximity, which was also wholly unnecessary and felt entirely too welcoming for Kinro to be comfortable with how much he liked it.

Then his mind was reeling again, flashing back to Titan’s direct confession of being attracted to men and Senku’s casual exposition about how anyone can be attracted to men or women or both or—

And how Titan and Kinro were about to—and Senku didn’t even really question it, even if he did say he didn’t expect it—

Unbidden, Kinro’s heart beat faster in its new self-awareness. Oh stars, Kinro probably was into men, wasn’t he? Or was it just Titan? Looking back on all the evidence, it only made sense. He really hadn’t been expecting an identity crisis out of a conversation with Senku, of all people.

He didn’t realize that his fists were clutching at his bandages until a sharp pain in his abdomen cut off his thoughts. He sucked in a breath, forcing his body not to curl into itself as he loosened his grip. But Titan’s proximity and sharp perceptiveness worked against Kinro, and the other man apparently had no qualms about reaching out and holding him up, not saying a word, this time. Kinro realized, staring into Titan’s wide, honest eyes, that he still hadn’t responded to Titan’s question (yet again). And seeing Titan lean in again and knowing, really _knowing_ what it meant this time, maybe he didn’t need to.

Their lips connected only briefly, but Kinro knew he wouldn’t have felt the same way kissing a woman. The revelation was so clear, so obvious as he pressed against Titan that it didn’t even shake him. No, the only thing shaking him now was the warmth against his mouth, the arm wrapping around his waist, the coaxing of Titan’s mere presence to let him relax his guard—Kinro felt oddly safe, standing in the science shed, alone with Titan, knowing Senku had guaranteed nobody else would walk in on them. The danger to the village was a distant thought in the face of Titan’s smile when they parted.

Kinro, in all his physical strength, had far too little experience in the romance department to know what to do about the weakness in his knees that he tried so hard to attribute to his injuries. But he could feel his heartbeat in his whole body and his arms were frozen at his sides, practically twitching in their desire to reach out to Titan but not wanting to overstep his boundaries. He had no idea what to do, how to proceed.

Fortunately, Titan made the decision for them. Kinro had never seen anyone look so soft—maybe aside from the village elders in their overall contentment—as he said, “I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t think I’d get the chance to do this.”

Kinro made an involuntary sound from the back of his throat. What was that supposed to mean?

Titan’s hands slid from their position on Kinro’s waist, moving up to touch his cheek for a moment before retracting completely. “I asked Ruri to tell me if anyone else asked her about the Tale she told me, but nobody ever did. I was starting to think I’d be out of luck forever, and I’d never have a partner. I thought I was totally alone.” The pain masked by Titan’s regular easygoing smile took a hold of Kinro, and before he realized what he was doing, Kinro had grasped Titan’s hands in his own, squeezing them like he saw the married couples around the village do. He didn’t have any expectations for what effect that would have, but surprisingly, he felt a surge of warmth loosening the tension in his chest when Titan squeezed back, despite the surprise in his eyes.

“This has been an… enlightening day,” Kinro spoke, not sure how to express the simultaneous turmoil and inner peace the past hour had brought him. Stars, the day had only just started, hadn’t it? “I have a lot to think about, so forgive me if I’m being presumptuous, but—”

“Sorry—” Titan interrupted, still smiling. “I should be more clear. I would like to date you.”

Kinro’s face turned red. “H-how straightforward. Well,” he coughed, trying to ease his own flustered heart, “I don’t know if I can give you an answer quite yet, but…” His voice trailed off, trying to find the right words.

“It’s too much too fast?” Titan supplied. Kinro nodded, relieved that he understood. “I get it. But I just want to clarify…” Titan brought their linked hands up to chest height, looking at them fondly before meeting Kinro’s eyes again. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. It’s not like any of us have a lot of options. But out of everyone in the village, you’re the one I’d like to be with the most.” His words left so little to interpretation that Kinro felt like his cheeks would explode with how much blood was rushing to them. And Titan wasn’t even done. “You’re really amazing, Kinro. You want the best for everyone else, but I want you to prioritize yourself. It’s your decision, too, and I won’t be offended if you say no.”

Kinro really didn’t want to say no. But at the same time, he didn’t have the energy to figure out whether it was because being alone with Titan for longer than he ever had was making him feel in ways that nobody had before, or if it was because the thought of disappointing Titan—practically abandoning him—made Kinro’s heart sink in a type of despair that had never occurred to him until now.

He did need time.

But for now, he repeated, “I need to think about it. But I’m…” He stared at their intertwined fingers. “… Not against it. That’s all I can say.”

When Kinro gathered the courage to look up, Titan was clearly trying not to let the hope in his eyes shine through. But it did, and Kinro was left blinded and breathless in its wake.

So he let the final statement out, “I don’t think I’ll refuse,” and the resulting grin left Kinro hard-pressed to regret it.

**Author's Note:**

> TL;DR it's surprisingly in-character for Kinro to be gay but not realize bc heteronormativity, Senku is aro/ace, Gen is nonbinary, the Hundred Tales most certainly have a queer story or else, Titan needs more screen time, Kinro deserves only the best in life, thanks for coming to my ted talk. 
> 
> And if you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope it made sense by the end lol. I probably just wanted an excuse to give Kinro a boyfriend and tell everyone my headcanons about Senku and Gen, even though those are mentioned for about 0.2 seconds. But honestly, I'm boutta throw hands if Senku isn't declared canon ace at the very least by the end of the series. But I digress.


End file.
